Among the forestry there is comparatively little timber suitable for building purposes, and a considerable amount of timber is purchased from the mills of Puget Sound. Bamboo is largely employed for buildings. Camphor is the product of a tree (Camphora officinarum) allied to the cinnamon and the sassafras. It is cultivated in the island of Kiushiu. The best gum, however, is now obtained from Formosa, and this island now controls the world's supply. The camphor product is a government monopoly leased to a British company.
The lacquer-tree (Rhus vernicifera) grows mainly in the island of Hondo. The sap, after preparation, forms the most durable varnish known. Black lacquer is obtained by treating the sap with nutgalls. Lacquered wooden-ware is sold all over Europe and the United States. The lacquered surface is exceedingly hard and water-proof; it is not affected by climate.
Gold, porcelain clay, silver, copper, and petroleum are mined. The gold and silver are used both for coinage and in the arts; the clay has made Japanese porcelains famous. The copper comes from the most productive mines of Asia; a considerable amount is exported, but much is used in the manufacture of Japanese bronze goods. Coal is mined, and this has given a great impetus to manufacture; iron ore is deficient, and steel must be imported. The quantity of petroleum is increasing yearly, and is becoming an important factor in the world's product.
Manufacturing industries are giving shape to the industrial future of the country. The cotton-mills alone employ seventy thousand people and keep more than one million spindles busy. More than one million operatives are engaged in textile manufactures. Much of the cloth, both cotton and silk, is still woven on cottage looms. The cotton cloth is sold mainly in China and Korea; the surplus silk textiles find a ready market in the United States. The best straw matting used as a floor-covering is now made in Japan and constitutes a very important export.
Three thousand miles of railway aid the internal industries of the country; several steamship lines to Hongkong and Shanghai, and one or more each to Vladivostok, Bombay, San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu, Australia, and Vancouver (B.C.) carry the tea, raw silk, and manufactured products to Europe and America. Much, if not most, of the steamship interests are owned by the Japanese, and the lines are encouraged by government subsidies. France and the United States buy most of the raw silk. The latter country purchases most of the tea, sending coal-oil, cotton, leather, and lumber in return. Great Britain and Germany sell to the Japanese a large part of the textiles and the machinery they use. The exports to the United States are consigned mainly to San Francisco, New York and Seattle.
Tokio is the capital; Yokohama is the chief port for American traffic, and the market for most of the foreign trade. Most of the trade between China and Japan centres at Nagasaki, which is the Japanese naval station. Osaka and Kioto are the chief centres of cotton and textile manufactures.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
How has the policy of seclusion affected the commercial development of China?
What has been its effect on the social life of the people?